Community and Individual Development Association
A South African nonprofit educational-development organization known for creating low-cost tertiary education opportunities for disadvantaged students.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
The Community and Individual Development Association, commonly known as CIDA or COMMUNITY, is a South African nonprofit educational-development organization based in Johannesburg. Its work has focused on widening access to education and practical self-development opportunities for people who have historically been excluded from high-quality educational institutions. Although the organization is closely associated with CIDA City Campus, the campus was one project within a broader portfolio of education, training, entrepreneurship, community-development, and social-enterprise initiatives. CIDA's roots extend to 1979, when it began developing community-oriented projects such as the Soweto Craft and Self-Development Centre. Further initiatives followed in Crossroads, Soweto, Alexandra, KwaZulu-Natal, Qwa Qwa, and other communities. These projects included self-learning centers, teacher and student training, entrepreneurship education, and support for community-based development. The organization’s operating philosophy was to build programs that could deliver education at large scale and low cost, with individual projects eventually becoming independent or continuing under CIDA’s umbrella. The best-known CIDA project was CIDA City Campus, established in Johannesburg in 2000. It was designed to offer an almost cost-free university education to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The model attracted support from South African companies, international corporations, foundations, and philanthropic donors. Contributors and supporters identified in published accounts include JPMorgan, Dell, the Educating Africa Foundation, Oprah Winfrey, Murray & Roberts, Barloworld, and the Letsema Sizwe Trust. A major 2003 donation from Oprah Winfrey helped fund accommodation for female students. The campus became widely cited as an example of the potential for free or very low-cost tertiary education in South Africa. CIDA expanded beyond conventional degree education. Its projects included the Branson School of Entrepreneurship, named for contributor Richard Branson; the Mastery Academy of Construction; Innovation TOWN; Invincible South Africa; Consciousness-Based Education South Africa; Invincible Outsourcing; and environmental and replication initiatives connected with Ezemvelo. The organization also developed projects intended to demonstrate that educational institutions could combine learning, employment, entrepreneurship, and social development. Some related initiatives later became separate organizations or operated independently, including the Maharishi Institute, founded in 2007 by people associated with the CIDA model. The organization experienced leadership and institutional change during the 2000s. Taddy Blecher, a co-founder and chief executive associated with CIDA, left in 2007 to establish the Maharishi Institute. Public accounts linked his departure to disagreements or donor concerns surrounding the use of Transcendental Meditation and related consciousness-based education practices. CIDA City Campus subsequently faced a financial crisis and closed in December 2014. The closure marked the end of the campus as a functioning tertiary institution, but it does not by itself establish that every CIDA-related project or legal entity ceased operations. The current operating status of the broader association is therefore not confirmed here.
History
The Community and Individual Development Association emerged from South African community-development work designed to expand practical learning and self-reliance in underserved communities. Its earliest recorded initiative was the Soweto Craft and Self-Development Centre in 1979. The organization later established or supported a Crossroads Self-Development Centre, Sagewood School, teacher and student training in Qwa Qwa, the Soweto Self-Learning Centre, Peace Corps training, teacher training in KwaZulu-Natal, and large-scale educational training in Alexandra. These projects established the organization’s recurring focus: combining education with local development rather than treating schooling as an isolated service. CIDA was formed in its later organizational form in 2000, when it launched CIDA City Campus in Johannesburg. The campus sought to make university education available at almost no cost to students who could not otherwise afford it. Its model relied on philanthropy, corporate support, donor participation, and operating structures intended to reduce the cost of tertiary education. The Educating Africa Foundation provided important early support, while other contributors included South African businesses and international companies such as JPMorgan and Dell. The campus became one of the most visible examples associated with South Africa’s free-tertiary-education movement. The campus also became a platform for experimentation in student support, entrepreneurship, and applied education. In 2003, funding attributed to Oprah Winfrey supported a girls’ dormitory. The organization later developed the Branson School of Entrepreneurship, named after Richard Branson, and introduced the Mastery Academy of Construction with support from Murray & Roberts, Barloworld, and the Letsema Sizwe Trust. These initiatives broadened CIDA’s role from university access to employability, enterprise development, and vocational preparation. During the mid- and late 2000s, CIDA expanded its project network. The Community Individual Development Trust was established in 2005. The Branson School followed in 2006. In 2007, Taddy Blecher, a CIDA co-founder and chief executive, received a Skoll Foundation award reported as one million dollars and left CIDA to establish the Maharishi Institute. His departure was associated in public accounts with donor concerns over his promotion of Transcendental Meditation. In 2008, CIDA-related projects included Innovation TOWN, Invincible South Africa, and Consciousness-Based Education South Africa. The organization also received Ezemvelo nature reserve as a donation from the Oppenheimer family. Further projects followed in 2009 and 2010, including Invincible Outsourcing, the Replication Centre, the Ezemvelo Eco-campus, the $10 College Fund, and the Thank You Foundation. The breadth of this portfolio reflected CIDA’s ambition to develop scalable models that could be reproduced in other communities and potentially become financially or institutionally independent. At the same time, the number of initiatives created organizational complexity and dependence on continuing donor and partner support. CIDA City Campus ultimately encountered a financial crisis and closed in December 2014. The closure ended the campus’s direct operation as a tertiary institution and represented a major setback for the organization’s best-known educational model. Related institutions, including the Maharishi Institute, continued to pursue comparable access-oriented education strategies, but they should not be treated as identical entities to CIDA. Available reference material does not establish the present legal, operational, or financial status of the broader Community and Individual Development Association, so that status remains unconfirmed.
- 2014
CIDA City Campus closes
[1]The campus closed in December following a financial crisis.
- 2010
Replication and environmental education projects added
[1]The Replication Centre, Ezemvelo Eco-campus, $10 College Fund, and Thank You Foundation were reported among the organization’s new initiatives.
- 2009
Invincible Outsourcing launches
[1]CIDA expanded into an outsourcing-related social-enterprise initiative.
- 2008
Expansion into innovation, consciousness-based education, and conservation
[1]CIDA-related initiatives included Innovation TOWN, Invincible South Africa, Consciousness-Based Education South Africa, and the donated Ezemvelo nature reserve.
- 2007
Leadership transition and Skoll Foundation recognition
[1]Taddy Blecher received a Skoll Foundation award and left CIDA to establish the Maharishi Institute.
- 2006
Branson School of Entrepreneurship opens
[1]CIDA established an entrepreneurship school named for contributor Richard Branson.
- 2005
Community Individual Development Trust is established
[1]CIDA created a trust as part of its broader institutional and community-development portfolio.
- 2003
Women’s residence receives philanthropic support
[1]A donation attributed to Oprah Winfrey supported the development of a girls’ dormitory at CIDA City Campus.
- 2000
CIDA City Campus is founded
[1]The organization established its Johannesburg campus to provide almost cost-free tertiary education to disadvantaged students.
- 1993
Soweto Self-Learning Centre
[1]CIDA established a self-learning center in Soweto, reinforcing its emphasis on accessible community education.
Products and positioning
Accessible, large-scale, low-cost education and community development for disadvantaged South African learners.
Tertiary education · 2000
CIDA City Campus
CIDA City Campus was the organization’s signature Johannesburg project, created in 2000 to provide an almost cost-free university education to disadvantaged students. It combined donor funding, corporate support, student services, and an access-oriented educational model. The campus became widely associated with South Africa’s free-tertiary-education movement. A girls’ residence supported by a donation attributed to Oprah Winfrey was added during the campus’s development. The campus closed in December 2014 after a financial crisis.
Entrepreneurship education · 2006
Branson School of Entrepreneurship
Established in 2006, the Branson School of Entrepreneurship was an enterprise and business-development initiative associated with CIDA. It was named for contributor Richard Branson and reflected the organization’s effort to complement formal education with practical entrepreneurship skills and pathways to economic participation.
Vocational and construction training · 2007
Mastery Academy of Construction
The Mastery Academy of Construction was an applied training program connected with CIDA City Campus. It broadened the organization’s educational scope toward construction skills and employability. Published accounts identify support from Murray & Roberts, Barloworld, and the Letsema Sizwe Trust, although detailed curriculum and current operating information are not available in the supplied sources.
Community education · 1979
Community self-learning and development centers
CIDA’s earlier project portfolio included self-development and self-learning centers in Soweto and Crossroads, together with training programs for teachers, students, and community participants. These initiatives formed the foundation of the organization’s later emphasis on scalable, low-cost educational access.
Controversies
2007
Dispute over consciousness-based education practices
Public accounts associated Taddy Blecher’s departure from CIDA with donor concerns about his promotion of Transcendental Meditation and related consciousness-based education practices. The supplied material does not establish a formal finding of wrongdoing or a legal scandal.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Consciousness-Based Education South Africa
South Africa
CIDA founded or supported a consciousness-based education initiative alongside other innovation and social-development projects.
Outcome. The initiative contributed to the educational model later associated with the Maharishi Institute, but no independent outcome data is supplied.
- 2006Branson School of Entrepreneurship
South Africa
CIDA expanded its educational proposition with an entrepreneurship school intended to connect learning with enterprise creation and economic participation.
Outcome. The initiative was reported as part of CIDA’s broader project portfolio; its later status is not confirmed.
- 2000CIDA City Campus access-to-tertiary-education initiative
South Africa
CIDA promoted an almost cost-free university education model for disadvantaged South African students through its Johannesburg City Campus.
Outcome. The campus became a prominent example of low-cost tertiary education before closing in 2014.
Brand decisions
2014
Close CIDA City CampusOtherBackground
The campus faced a financial crisis after years of operating an unusually low-cost, donor-supported tertiary education model.
Action taken
CIDA City Campus ceased operations in December 2014.
Aftermath
The closure ended the organization’s best-known campus project. The current status of the wider association and its remaining initiatives is not established by the supplied sources.
Financial crisis. (2014)
2007
Develop applied construction trainingStrategyBackground
The organization broadened its tertiary education model toward vocational skills and employability.
Action taken
CIDA City Campus launched the Mastery Academy of Construction with support reported from Murray & Roberts, Barloworld, and the Letsema Sizwe Trust.
Aftermath
The program extended CIDA’s scope beyond academic education, although its later status is not confirmed.
2006
Add entrepreneurship educationStrategyBackground
CIDA aimed to connect education with self-employment, enterprise development, and broader economic opportunity.
Action taken
It established the Branson School of Entrepreneurship.
Aftermath
Entrepreneurship became one element of CIDA’s wider education and social-enterprise portfolio.
2000
Launch a low-cost tertiary education campusStrategyBackground
CIDA sought to address unequal access to university education for disadvantaged South African students.
Action taken
It established CIDA City Campus in Johannesburg with an almost cost-free education model supported by donors and corporate contributors.
Aftermath
The campus became CIDA’s most visible project and an important reference point in discussions of free tertiary education before closing in 2014.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/community-and-individual-development-association-city-campus · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled